I have an option and a queue filing. Who will buy?
A Stage 1 data-center package is exclusive site control plus a large-load or interconnection filing plus deposits.
That is not powered land.
Assemblers and, at a discount, specialist developers buy it if the queue is assignable.
Hyperscalers do not close Stage 1.
Infra PE shows up at Stage 3, when an interconnection agreement or permitted behind-the-meter package exists.
Stage 1 (definition). Exclusive site control plus a large-load or interconnection filing plus deposits.
That packet is queued land, not powered land.
Stage 3 is an executed interconnection agreement or a permitted behind-the-meter package.
A will-serve letter is not an interconnection agreement.
Stage 1 versus Stage 3
Stage 1 is the folder a first-time sponsor actually has: an option, PSA, ground lease, or deed, plus a queue or large-load filing, plus deposits. Stage 3 is contracted power: an executed interconnection agreement, or a permitted behind-the-meter package, plus a CUP whose appeal window has closed. A will-serve letter can sit in the Stage 1 folder. It does not make the site Stage 3.
The site readiness checklist is that list. Do not reprint it here.
Who buys a Stage 1 site if the queue is assignable
Buyers at this grade are assemblers and, at a discount, specialist developers. They buy the packet only if the queue position can travel with the land. Hyperscalers do not close Stage 1.
| Buyer | What they need in the folder | What they will not buy |
|---|---|---|
| Assembler / land aggregator | Exclusive option, PSA, ground lease, or deed. Queue or large-load filing. Deposit receipts. Assignability language. | A filing in someone else's name that cannot travel. A flyer with no packet. |
| Specialist DC developer | Same as the assembler, plus a study that has actually started or a dated utility path, at a discount. | Stage 0 desktop overlay. A will-serve letter sold as an interconnection agreement. |
| Infra PE / neocloud | Executed interconnection agreement or permitted behind-the-meter package. | Stage 1. They buy contracted power, not a study request. |
| Hyperscaler | Not a first-time sponsor's Stage 1 close. | Option plus queue. They do not close Stage 1. |
A first-time sponsor should not expect a hyperscaler to buy Stage 0 or Stage 1. Most queue filings never become campuses. See how much data centers pay for land. Acreage is how much land data centers need. Queued land is not priced like Stage 3.
Plug Power sold 66 acres plus associated 164 MW of grid interconnection assets to Stream Data Centers in Young County, Texas, on 13 July 2026 for up to $76.5 million: $50 million at closing, and up to $26.5 million more when the final interconnection agreement confirmed megawatts (Plug Power, 13 July 2026). The earnout is the taxonomy. Even a sophisticated buyer withheld the last third until the IA, not the queue position, spoke.
What to send a buyer before they sign an NDA
This is the teaser. It is not an intake form, and it is not “email us.” Send enough for a buyer to know which row you are on. Keep the APN, the option price, and the queue PDF for the room. A GIS overlay is not that room. See LandGate vs a data room for data center land.
| Put this | Why it is in the teaser |
|---|---|
| County, ISO or RTO, utility | Tells them which queue and which tariff. |
| Megawatts requested | Size of the filing. Not "available" megawatts. |
| Queue ID and filing date | So they can look the position up. |
| Study stage | No studies submitted is a different asset from a facilities study. |
| Acres and site-control type | Option, PSA, ground lease, or deed. Expiry. Price. |
| Assign versus sell | If the position cannot travel, say so in the teaser. |
| Deposit receipts | Proof you paid to stand in line. |
Do not put “500 MW available” on the teaser if the paper is a queue receipt. Do not collapse a will-serve letter into an interconnection agreement.
Can I sell or assign a queue position with the land?
No, unless the utility tariff and the application say yes. A change of applicant often resets the study. Many large-load filings are named to a person or an SPV and are not a freely transferable asset.
If the position is not assignable, you are not selling a power path. You are selling dirt with a story that dies when the name on the application changes. Transfer usually needs utility consent. A queue filing is not secured power. See will-serve vs interconnection agreement.
Is a queue filing the same as powered land?
No. A load application in an interconnection queue is a request to be studied. Queued is not powered land. Powered land is existing metered load, a confirmed utility expansion, an executed interconnection agreement, or a permitted behind-the-meter package. A will-serve letter is not an interconnection agreement. Most queue filings never become campuses.
ERCOT told the Texas Senate in July 2026 it was tracking about 474 GW of large-load interconnection requests, of which about 90 percent were data centers. That is several times ERCOT’s all-time peak demand. A queue that large is not a map of buyers. It is a map of people who paid to stand in line.
Google’s Marsden Hanna said in January 2026 that utilities in many markets were quoting four to ten years to interconnect, and that one utility quoted twelve years just to study the request. A four-to-ten-year study clock is a schedule risk. It is not a land value.
Will a hyperscaler buy a Stage 1 data center site?
No. Hyperscalers do not close a first-time sponsor’s Stage 1. They show up at Stage 3, when an interconnection agreement or a permitted behind-the-meter package exists, or they lease a campus from a developer who already took that risk. The Young County earnout is the same rule in a live 2026 deal: pay for the path, withhold the rest until the IA exists.
Reuters (April 2026) named the junk on the other side of that rule: zombie projects, filings from land that has neither power, planning permission, nor an end user. Colliers’ 2026 Data Center Marketplace Report put large-load deposits in a $25 million to $75 million band in primary markets, often non-refundable until connectivity. That is why Stage 1 is a real packet, and why most of those packets never become campuses.
FAQ
Which buyers close a Stage 1 site, and which wait for Stage 3?
Assemblers, and specialist developers at a discount if the queue is assignable.
Hyperscalers do not close Stage 1.
Infra PE shows up at Stage 3, when an interconnection agreement or a permitted behind-the-meter package exists.
Will a hyperscaler buy a Stage 1 data center site?
No.
Hyperscalers do not close a first-time sponsor's Stage 1.
They show up at Stage 3, or they lease from a developer who already took that risk.
Is a queue filing the same as powered land?
No.
A queue filing is a request to be studied.
Powered land is existing metered load, a confirmed expansion, an executed interconnection agreement, or permitted behind-the-meter.
Can I sell or assign a queue position with the land?
Only if the utility tariff and the application say you can.
A change of applicant often resets the study.
Many large-load filings are not assignable.
What should I send a buyer before they sign an NDA?
The teaser: location, megawatts, ISO, queue ID, filing date, study stage, acres, option expiry and price, and whether you can assign or only sell the land.
Keep the APN and the PDFs for the room.
Is a will-serve letter enough to sell Stage 1 as Stage 3?
No.
A will-serve letter is a utility comfort letter.
An interconnection agreement is the contract.
Do most queue filings become campuses?
No.
Most queue filings never become campuses.
ERCOT's 2026 large-load queue is hundreds of gigawatts against a few gigawatts actually energized.
Sources
- ERCOT, Texas Senate panel on large-load interconnection, July 2026.
- Google / Marsden Hanna, remarks on interconnection timelines, January 2026.
- Plug Power press release, Graham / Stream sale, 13 July 2026.
- Reuters, Powered land and zombie projects, April 2026.
- Colliers, US Data Center Marketplace Report, 2026.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell land or transfer queue positions.